I really don't believe that but I am in awe of a world of people with no opinions of their own. All I hear from people when discussing politics are talking points put out by the political machines.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Miss Information

The girlfriend of a political candidate. All we get from both sides is things that are partial truths that are intended to grab the uneducated and give them a reason to oppose the other guy. What I don't understand is why many of the educated people I know don't research any of the rhetoric. We live in an era that gives you all the info you want in seconds. We have web sites that will do all the research for you ie. http://www.factcheck.org/, http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/sendler.asp, etc.Obama

School Funding MisleadsSeptember 11, 2008An Obama ad plays fast and loose with McCain's voting record on education and proposals as a presidential candidate.

Obama said he could “pay for every dime” of his spending and tax cut proposals “by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens.” That’s wrong

He twisted McCain’s words about Afghanistan, saying, “When John McCain said we could just 'muddle through' in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources.” Actually, McCain said in 2003 we “may” muddle through, and he recently also called for more troops there.

He said McCain would fail to lower taxes for 100 million Americans while his own plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of “working” families. But an independent analysis puts the number who would see no benefit from McCain’s plan at 66 million and finds that Obama’s plan would benefit 81 percent of all households when retirees and those without children are figured in.

Obama noted that McCain’s health care plan would "tax people’s benefits" but didn’t say that it also would provide up to a $5,000 tax credit for families

Obama said "average family income" went down $2,000 under Bush, which isn't correct. An aide said he was really talking only about "working" families and not retired couples. And – math teachers, please note – he meant median (or midpoint) and not really the mean or average. Median family income actually has inched up slightly under Bush.

Now on the other side McCain

McCain claimed that Obama’s health care plan would "force small businesses to cut jobs" and would put "a bureaucrat ... between you and your doctor." In fact, the plan exempts small businesses, and those who have insurance now could keep the coverage they have.

McCain attacked Obama for voting for "corporate welfare" for oil companies. In fact, the bill Obama voted for raised taxes on oil companies by $300 million over 11 years while providing $5.8 billion in subsidies for renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternative fuels.

McCain said oil imports send "$700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much." But the U.S. is on track to import a total of only $536 billion worth of oil at current prices, and close to a third of that comes from Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

He promised to increase use of "wind, tide [and] solar" energy, though his actual energy plan contains no new money for renewable energy. He has said elsewhere that renewable sources won’t produce as much as people think.He called for "reducing government spending and getting rid of failed programs," but as in the past failed to cite a single program that he would eliminate or reduce.

He said Obama would "close" markets to trade. In fact, Obama, though he once said he wanted to "renegotiate" the North American Free Trade Agreement, now says he simply wants to try to strengthen environmental and labor provisions in it.

Now this is just the tip of the iceberg but my point is that I can find all of this in 30 seconds so why do people take what these politicians say and run with it. Where have their brains gone. Why are "Talking Points" so effective.

It reminds me of someone I work with who lies perpetually. He tells the same lies over and over again and everybody knows it. All of the people that work with me say how can he keep doing this, and I tell them that he tells the lies so often that they become truth to him and as we all know, "Perception is Reality".

One of my favorite songs in the world has a line,

"When it's time to function, as a feeling human being, will your Bachelor of Arts help you get by". This is responded to with, " I hope to study further, a few more year or so, I also hope to keep a steady high".

God were they right when they wrote that, that has to be it, I have answered my question of why do people believe the rhetoric and accept talking points... they are all high!

4 comments:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” --Joseph Goebbels.